Effects of hypothesis and assigned task on question selection strategies.

70 undergraduates participated in an experiment in which they were provided with an extrovert profile (1-sided task condition) or an extrovert profile together with an introvert profile (2-sided task condition). Ss received information about a male target person, who was described either as an introvert (introvert hypothesis condition) or as a neutral person (neutral hypothesis condition). Ss then gave their impression of the target person and selected questions for getting to know that person. Results show that the selection of questions was influenced only by the nature of the task, not by the induction of a hypothesis, which replicates findings by G. R. Semin and F. Strack (see record 1981-30362-001). In Exp II, with 166 undergraduates, the hypothesis was manipulated by giving Ss a letter and a photo of the target person, which were designed to make Ss believe that the target person was either an extrovert or an introvert. The pool of questions was the same as in Exp I. Results show that Ss selected questions as a function of the hypothesis that was induced. It is concluded that Ss' selection of questions may be both the result of what Ss were asked to do (the assigned task) and the result of what they were led to believe (the entertained hypothesis).